監管真空與隱藏的殺手 中國電子煙亂象

SHENZHEN, China — In a grimy workshop, among boiling vats of chemicals, factory workers are busy turning stainless steel rods into slender tube casings, a crucial component of electronic cigarettes. Not long ago, Skorite Electronics was a tiny firm struggling to produce pen parts. Today, it is part of an enormous — and virtually unregulated — supply chain centered here that produces about 90 percent of the world’s e-cigarettes.

中國深圳——骯髒的車間裏滿是裝着沸騰的化學品的大桶，工人們正忙着將不鏽鋼棒製作成細長的套管，這是電子煙的關鍵組件。不久之前，斯可瑞特電子有限公司(Skorite Electronics)還是一個靠生產筆的零件苦苦掙扎的小公司。如今，公司已經成爲以這裏爲中心的一個巨大的——幾乎不受管制的——供應鏈的一部分，世界上90%的電子煙都產自這裏。

This year, Chinese manufacturers are expected to ship more than 300 million e-cigarettes to the United States and Europe, where they will reach the shelves of Walmart, 7-Eleven stores, gas station outlets and so-called vaping shops.

今年，中國的製造商將向美國和歐洲運送逾3億支電子煙，它們將出現在沃爾瑪(Walmart)、7-11(7-Eleven)、加油站商店，以及所謂的電子煙商店的貨架上。

The devices have become increasingly popular, particularly among young adults, and yet hundreds of e-cigarette manufacturers in China operate with little oversight. Experts say flawed or sloppy manufacturing could account for some of the heavy metals, carcinogens and other dangerous compounds, such as lead, tin and zinc, that have been detected in some e-cigarettes.

電子煙越來越受歡迎，特別是在青年人中間，然而在中國運營的數以百計的電子煙生產商幾乎不受監管。專家表示，目前已經在一些電子煙中檢測到的重金屬、致癌物質和鉛、錫、鋅的危險化合物，可能與存在缺陷或疏忽的生產過程有關。

One study found e-cigarette vapor that contained hazardous nickel and chromium at four times the level they appear in traditional cigarette smoke; another found that half the e-cigarettes sampled malfunctioned and some released vapor tainted with silicon fibers.

一項研究發現，電子煙蒸汽中有害物質鎳和鉻的含量是傳統香菸煙霧的四倍；另一項研究發現，取樣的電子煙有一半存在故障，有一些電子煙會釋放含有硅纖維的蒸汽。

There have also been reports in the United States of e-cigarettes that exploded after a lithium ion battery or electric charger overheated, causing burns.

此前美國有過鋰電池或充電器過熱導致電子煙爆炸的報道，爆炸造成了燒傷。

“We need to understand what e-cigarettes are made of,” says Avrum Spira, a lung specialist at the Boston University School of Medicine, “and the manufacturing process is a critical part of that understanding.”

“我們需要了解電子煙是由什麼製成的，”波士頓大學醫學院(Boston University School of Medicine)肺病專家阿夫魯·斯皮拉(Avrum Spira)說。“爲了瞭解這一點，我們需要了解它的生產過程。”

A review by The New York Times of manufacturing operations in Shenzhen found that many factories were legitimate and made efforts at quality control, but that some were lower-end operations that either had no safety testing equipment or specialized in counterfeiting established brands, often with cheaper parts. The Times visited several such workshops in Shenzhen, including a counterfeiting shop set up in a garage and another that displayed a knockoff of an e-cigarette brand called “Russian 91%,” which the factory boss said was destined for the United States.

《紐約時報》有關深圳地區電子煙生產經營的調查顯示，很多工廠都是合法生產，都在努力加強質量管控，但一些工廠屬於低端經營，它們有的沒有安全檢測設備，有的專門僞造名牌產品，通常採用廉價零件。《紐約時報》走訪了深圳的幾家工廠，其中包括一家設在車庫裏的仿冒品車間，另一家工廠則展示了仿造電子煙品牌“Russian 91%”的產品，工廠老闆表示，這些產品將銷往美國。

The e-cigarette industry in China has developed differently from other industries, like toys, apparel and smartphones, where global brands outsource their manufacturing here but monitor and enforce quality control standards. Chinese companies were the first to develop e-cigarettes, and that happened in a regulatory void. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has just begun to move toward regulating e-cigarettes, working on rules that would force global producers, in China and elsewhere, to provide the agency with a list of ingredients and details about the manufacturing process.

中國電子煙產業的發展道路與玩具、服裝及智能手機等產業不同。在那些產業中，國際品牌將生產任務外包給中國，但會監督、實施質量管控標準。中國公司最先研發了電子煙，並且是在監管缺失的情況下進行的。在美國，美國食品藥品監督管理局（Food and Drug Administration，簡稱FDA）剛剛開始準備對電子煙進行管控，制定規定，迫使中國及其他地方的生產商提供成分列表，以及生產過程的細節。

But analysts say setting those rules and new manufacturing guidelines could take years. In the meantime, Chinese factories are quickening the pace, hoping to build profits and market share before regulatory scrutiny arrives and most likely forces many e-cigarette makers to close.

但分析人士表示，制定規定及新的生產指南需要幾年的時間。與此同時，中國工廠正在加快步伐，希望在受到監管者關注前盈利，佔據市場份額，監管舉措可能會迫使很多電子煙製造商關門。

“This is really a chaotic industry,” says Jackie Zhuang, deputy general manager of Huabao International, a Chinese tobacco flavoring company in Shanghai and an expert on China’s e-cigarette market. “I hope it will soon be well regulated.”

“這是一個非常混亂的產業，”上海菸草香料公司華寶國際公司副總經理、中國電子煙市場專家莊志強（音）說。“我希望，這個產業很快能得到有效管控。”

In a five-square-mile area in the northwestern part of Shenzhen called Bao’an, in a district packed with industrial parks, there are believed to be more than 600 e-cigarette producers, and many more component suppliers selling bulk orders of tube casings, integrated circuit boards, heating coils and lithium ion batteries, the essential components of the e-cigarette. If you are a manufacturer in Shenzhen and need 50,000 baked-metal casings, a local manufacturer can supply them for about $25,000 and have them delivered within hours.

深圳西北部的寶安區到處都是工業園區，在其中一塊5平方英里（約合13平方公里）的區域，據稱有600多家電子煙生產商，套管、集成電路板、加熱線圈和鋰電子電池等電子煙基本元件的批發商就更多了。如果你是深圳的一個製造商，需要5萬個金屬殼套管，當地的廠家可以2.5萬美元（約合15萬元人民幣）的價格提供貨物，而且會在數小時內送貨。

Unlike the counterfeiters’ shops, the largest Shenzhen e-cigarette manufacturing operations are relatively clean, with rows of workers seated on plastic stools along a fast-moving assembly line.

與仿造作坊不同，深圳最大的電子煙生產工廠相對比較乾淨，成排的工人坐在塑料凳上，旁邊是快速運轉的流水作業線。

In 2004, a Chinese pharmacist named Han Li helped develop the e-cigarette, which was then sold through his company, Beijing Ruyan. Other manufacturers soon followed, and by 2009, as e-cigarettes became more popular in the United States and Europe, more factories opened.

2004年，中醫師韓力參與研發了電子煙，後來通過自己的公司北京如煙公司進行銷售。其他生產商緊隨其後，到2009年，隨着電子煙在美國和歐洲日益受歡迎，越來越多的電子煙工廠應運而生。

The boom has made China the breeding ground for a new, and some would say innovative, product. And yet the Chinese government has played no role in the development of the industry or in regulating it. As in the West, China’s tobacco authority — which acts as both regulator and dominant, state-controlled producer of cigarettes and tobacco products — has been caught off guard by a product that is neither a food nor a drug and perhaps not necessarily even a tobacco product.

這股熱潮使得中國成爲一種新產品——一些人會說是創新產品——的發源地。但中國政府在該產業的發展中沒有起到作用，也沒有進行監管。就像在西方一樣，中國的菸草主管部門——既是監管者，又是居主導地位的國有香菸及煙製品生產商——被這種既不屬於食品、也不屬於藥品，甚至未必算是菸草製品的產品打了個措手不及。

Some Chinese companies, however, are trying to get ahead of the anticipated F.D.A. rules. First Union is one of the biggest, operating several manufacturing complexes here in Shenzhen with about 6,000 employees. Its plants have glass-enclosed, dust-free rooms that the company says are as clean and sophisticated as pharmaceutical labs.

但一些中國公司正設法趕在FDA出臺規定前贏得利潤。合元集團是最大的電子煙公司之一，在深圳有幾個工廠，擁有大約6000名員工。該公司的工廠設有無塵玻璃屋，該公司稱這些無塵玻璃屋像製藥實驗室一樣清潔、精密。

First Union and Kimree, a rival based in nearby Huizhou, say they manufacture for many of the best-selling e-cigarette brands. Neither Chinese company, however, has a long history. The founders of Kimree, which recently filed for an initial public stock offering in the United States, got their start making consumer electronics, like cordless telephones. And before turning to e-cigarettes in 2006, the founders of First Union made silica gel brassieres and weight loss belts. Company executives say they can deliver high-quality goods.

合元集團及位於附近惠州地區的競爭對手吉瑞公司表示，他們爲很多暢銷的電子煙品牌生產產品。但這些中國公司的歷史都不長。吉瑞公司最初是生產無線電話等消費類電子產品的，最近在美國申請進行首次公開募股。合成集團於2006年進軍電子煙產業，在此之前主要生產硅膠胸罩和減肥腰帶。公司高管表示，它們能夠提供優質產品。

“We have the same quality-control standards as medical device makers,” said Sunny Xu, the chairman at First Union.

合成集團總裁徐中立說，“我們的質量管控採用的是醫療設備生產商的標準。”

Global tobacco giants that have entered the e-cigarette market are also manufacturing in China, and they insist they are doing so with stringent controls.

已經進入電子煙市場的國際菸草巨頭也在中國生產產品，它們堅稱在生產過程中進行了嚴格的管控。

Altria, formerly known as Philip Morris, sells the e-cigarette brand MarkTen. In a statement, Altria said: “MarkTen is manufactured in China for Nu Mark” — Altria’s e-cigarette subsidiary — “by an established manufacturer of e-cigarettes, which is following Nu Mark’s design specifications and quality control requirements” with “detailed quality-control measures.”

奧馳亞集團(Altria)原名菲利普莫里斯(Philip Morris)，銷售MarkTen品牌的電子煙。奧馳亞在聲明中稱：“MarkTen是在中國爲Nu Mark製造的產品”（Nu Mark是奧馳亞製造電子煙的子公司），其製造者是一個經驗豐富的電子菸廠家，遵循Nu Mark的設計規範和質量控制要求，實施了“詳細的質量控制措施”。

Troubled Manufacturing

問題叢生的生產過程

Smaller manufacturers, though, are more representative of the ethos here. Tiny start-up factories buy components from suppliers, set up assembly lines and hire low-skilled migrant workers to snap, stamp, glue and solder the e-cigarette components together.

不過，規模較小的製造商更能代表這個產業的特色。微小的初創公司從供應商處購買組件，設立組裝線，並僱傭低技能的外來務工人員，雙手上下翻飛，把電子香菸的組件粘合、焊接在一起。

“In the e-cigarette market, you don’t need big capital — that’s why there are now so many manufacturers here,” said Qiu Weihua, the founder of Joyetech, a large Chinese firm that is trying to distinguish itself as a high-quality producer of e-cigarettes. The firm, for example, employs testers who vape and check for flaws. “The big challenge is how to make a quality product.”

“在電子煙市場，你並不需要太大的資本——這就是現在這裏有這麼多製造商的原因，”中國大型公司卓爾悅(Joyetech)的創始人邱偉華說。這家公司試圖與其他公司區別開來，樹立一個高品質電子香菸製造商的形象。例如，公司還聘請了專門的測試者試吸，看是否存在問題，“最大的挑戰是如何製造優質產品。”

The e-cigarette makers, many run by young entrepreneurs, have found markets overseas, using online platforms like . But occasionally, an American businessman like Yaniv Nahon simply shows up at the factory gate. In 2010, Mr. Nahon, then 29, grew tired of selling e-cigarettes at a mall kiosk in South Florida and decided to produce his own line called Vapor 123.

許多電子煙工廠都是由年輕的創業者開設的，它們通過等網絡平臺在海外找到了市場。但是，像亞尼維·納翁(Yaniv Nahon)這樣的美國商人偶爾也會出現在工廠門口。2010年，時年29歲的納翁因爲厭倦了在南佛羅里達州一個商場內的小攤銷售電子煙，決定生產自己的產品，他的產品叫做Vapor 123。

“A lot of our products come in smaller orders using express mail service, no questions asked,” Mr. Nahon said in an interview at a factory called Jomo in Shenzhen. “Importing this into the U.S. isn’t difficult.”

“我們的很多產品都會通過特快專遞，被小批量地送到這裏，沒人會問任何問題，”納翁在深圳一家叫做九摩的工廠裏接受採訪時說。“把這個引進美國並不困難。”

That simplicity has made it easy for counterfeiting operations. Legitimate Shenzhen factory bosses complain about the fakes sold to wholesalers and online traders, who then mix fakes in with bulk orders of the authentic brands. Among the concerns is that some smaller manufacturers use poor-quality insulation paint on the heating coils, paint that could prove dangerous if it leached into the e-liquids.

這種簡易性使造假變得非常容易。合法深圳廠家的老闆經常抱怨有人賣假貨給批發商和網絡交易者，這些人之後會在大宗真貨訂單中摻雜假貨。有人擔心，一些規模較小的製造商會在加熱線圈上使用質量很差的絕緣塗料，倘若這種塗料滲入電子煙液，可能會很危險。

“I worry about overseas consumers,” says Danny Zhu, who runs KangerTech, a large Shenzhen e-cigarette maker. “There are lots of small workshops here, with 10 or 20 people, and they have no quality control or safety certifications for the material they use. Some of their products are covered with a layer of paint. It’s unhealthy.”

“我很擔心海外消費者，”深圳大型電子煙製造商康爾(KangerTech)的經營者丹尼·朱(Danny Zhu)說。“這裏有很多小作坊，裏面有一二十個工作人員，對於他們所使用的材料，既沒有質量管控也沒有安全認證。他們的有些產品上塗着一層塗料。很不健康。”

Scientific studies hint at a host of problems related to poor manufacturing standards. A study published last year in the open access online journal PLoS One found the presence of tin particles and other metals in e-cigarette vapors and said they appeared to come from the “solder joints” of e-cigarette devices.

科學研究表明，很多的問題都和糟糕的生產標準有關。去年發佈在公開網絡雜誌《公共科學圖書館·綜合》(PLoS One)上的一份研究報告稱在電子煙的蒸汽中發現了錫顆粒和其他金屬，並表示它們似乎來自電子煙的“焊接接頭”。

Another study of nearly two dozen e-cigarettes bought in the United States found large amounts of nickel and chromium, which probably came from the heating element, another suggestion that poorly manufactured e-cigarettes may allow the metals to enter into the e-liquids.

另一項研究在購自美國的將近20多支電子煙中發現了大量的鎳和鉻，這些物質可能來自加熱元件，這再次表明，劣質的電子煙可能會使這些金屬物質進入電子煙液。

“We’ve found on the order of 25 or 26 different elements, including metals, in the e-cigarette aerosols,” says Prue Talbot, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside, and co-author of several of the studies. “Some of the metal particles are less than 100 nanometers in diameter, and those are a concern because they can penetrate deep into the lungs.”

“我們已經在電子煙的氣霧劑裏發現了大約二十五六種不同元素，其中包括金屬，”加州大學河濱分校(University of California, Riverside)的細胞生物學教授、幾篇相關論文的合著者普呂·塔爾博特(Prue Talbot)說。“有些金屬顆粒的直徑還不到100納米，這些東西之所以令人擔心，是因爲它們能夠深入肺部。”

Health advocates say they are troubled by a history of food and drug safety scandals in China, such as when manufacturers substituted diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent, for the sweetener glycerin when making toothpastes and cough medicine. That led to reports of more than 350 deaths in Panama, China and other countries in 2006 alone.

健康倡導者表示，中國食品和藥物安全醜聞的歷史讓他們深感擔憂。比如，製造商在製造牙膏和止咳藥的時候，會用工業溶劑二甘醇代替甜味劑甘油。報道稱，僅2006年，這種做法就在巴拿馬、中國和其他國家造成了超過350例死亡事件。

The risk of diethylene glycol showing up in e-cigarettes is real. In 2009, the F.D.A. issued a warning about the potential health risks associated with e-cigarettes, saying laboratory studies of some samples had found the presence of toxic chemicals, including diethylene glycol, which is used in antifreeze.

電子煙中出現二甘醇的風險是真實存在的。2009年，FDA發佈了一條與電子煙相關的潛在健康風險警告稱，在對一些樣本進行實驗室研究後發現，裏面存在二甘醇等有毒化學物質，而這些東西是用於防凍劑的。

Pressure on Regulators

管理者的壓力

Eventually, analysts say, the F.D.A. could be compelled to certify e-cigarette factories and the manufacturing standards. But that could be months if not years away. The agency, however, is under pressure from public health advocates and medical experts.

分析人士稱，FDA最終將被迫對電子煙工廠和製造標準進行資質認證。但是，這個過程可能需要幾個月甚至幾年。然而，FDA還面臨着來自公共健康倡導者和醫療專家的壓力。

“What if someone in China buys nicotine, solvents and flavorings, but the source of these ingredients is unknown and they’re manufactured with impurities?” says Maciej Goniewicz, a toxicologist at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. “That could put consumers at risk.”

“如果中國有人購買了尼古丁，溶劑和調味品，但這些材料來源未知，而且在製造時還含有雜質怎麼辦？”布法羅羅斯威爾·帕克癌症研究所(Roswell Park Cancer Institute)的毒理學家馬切伊·戈尼威茨(Maciej Goniewicz)說。“這可能會使消費者陷入危險。”

Keenly aware that tighter regulations are on the horizon, Shenzhen e-cigarette makers are beginning to establish overseas branches to make e-liquids — the substance that is heated, then turned into vapor and inhaled. The F.D.A. does not yet have standards for e-liquids, but many of the Chinese companies say they make them in labs in the United States that have passed F.D.A. quality-control standards.

由於清楚地意識到官方將實施更嚴格的管制，深圳電子煙製造商都開始建立海外分支機構來製造電子煙液——這些電子煙液經過加熱，會變成蒸汽，然後被人吸入。FDA目前還沒有關於電子煙液的標準，但許多中國企業都聲稱，他們是在美國的一些達到FDA質量控制標準的實驗室製造這些液體的。

“I can tell you that all of our e-liquid is manufactured, bottled and filled here in the United States,” the chief executive at Mistic e-cigarettes, John J. Wiesehan Jr., said in an email. “Our liquid never leaves the U.S. We get no e-liquid from China.”

“我可以告訴你，我們所有的電子煙液都是在美國製造、裝瓶和填充的，”Mistic電子煙的首席執行官小約翰·J·維森漢(John J. Wiesehan Jr.)在一封電子郵件中說。“我們的液體從未離開美國。我們沒有任何來自中國的電子煙液。”

Big e-cigarette makers in the United States have begun to move manufacturing to the United States or Europe. Global tobacco companies are doing likewise. And some Chinese manufacturers, including Joyetech, are also moving their production facilities to the West.

美國的大型電子煙製造商開始把製造過程轉移到美國或歐洲。國際性的菸草公司也在這樣做。包括卓爾悅在內的一些中國製造商也開始把他們的生產設施搬到西方。

“A lot of people don’t trust the air or water in China,” says Mr. Qiu, the boss at Joyetech e-cigarettes, “so why would they trust our e-liquid?”

“很多人都不信任中國的空氣或水源，”卓爾悅電子煙的老闆邱偉華說，“那麼他們爲什麼要信任我們的電子煙液？”